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Friday, March 5, 2010

God Save the Queen!

I LOVE English food, and English chefs, and England. That British accent gets me every time, and I should add, that this love extends to all the British Isles, so I should really say that I love Great Britain. One of my favorite, very famous British chefs, Gordon Ramsay, featured Shephard's Pie on one of his shows, and I wanted to share my take on his version. This recipe is not complicated, and only requires 2 pans. You can modify the recipe to include a lot of different vegetables, or less of the different vegetables. (For example, when I cooked the recipe tonight, I added Swiss Chard, but it's not a standard.) I've gotten very good reviews, so I hope you try this simple recipe and let me know your thoughts.

Delicious Shephard's Pie

Filling Ingredients:
1 lb of Your Favorite Ground Meat (Beef is usually my choice, but I've also made it with turkey and chicken, all of them great.)
3 Carrots, very finely chopped
3 Stalks of Celery, very finely chopped
1 Large Onion, finely chopped
4 Cloves of Garlic, very finely chopped
2 Tablespoons of Tomato Paste
1 Tablespoon of Fresh or Dried Thyme (I prefer the fresh when I have it, but dried works just fine)
2 Tablespoons of Flour
1 Cup of Red Wine (Substitute stock if you don't have any red wine, it will also taste delicious)
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Delicious Cheesy Creamy Potatoes (see recipe below)
1 Cup of Sharp Cheddar

Cooking:
Saute the ground beef on medium-high heat until it is cooked through. Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic and thyme. Saute until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste and flour. Continue cooking until there is a lovely brown coating on the bottom of the pan. Add your red wine (or stock) and deglaze the pan (which means scrape up all that lovely brown coating.) Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and spread evenly in the pan. Add the Delicious Cheesy Creamy Potatoes, and spread around until the filling is covered. Spread the cheese over the top of the potatoes and place in a 350 degree oven until the cheese melts. To acheive that bubbly brown crust, turn the oven to Broil on High, and monitor very carefully. It can burn in 2 minutes, so keep a constant eye on it. Remove and scoop into bowls!

Cooking:
Boil the new potatoes (I like the skins left on) in salted water until very tender, usually about 12 minutes. Strain and add the potatoes to a mixer bowl. Begin mixing with an electric blender, and add in the half and half and butter. Once the potatoes are creamy, add the cheese and salt and pepper.